TABLE 1.

The NOVA food classification¹

Food groups and definition	Examples
Unprocessed and minimally processed foods: foods of plant (leaves, stems, roots, tubers, fruits, nuts, seeds) or animal origin (meat, other flesh, tissues and organs, eggs, milk) that are processed shortly after harvesting, gathering, slaughter, or husbanding; minimally processed foods are unprocessed foods altered in manners that do not add or introduce any substance but may involve subtracting parts of the food; minimal processes include cleaning, scrubbing, washing, winnowing, hulling, peeling, grinding, grating, squeezing, flaking, skinning, boning, carving, portioning, scaling, filleting, pressing, drying, skimming, pasteurization, sterilizing, chilling, refrigerating, freezing, sealing, bottling (as such), simple wrapping, and vacuum and gas packing; malting, which adds water, is a minimal process similar to fermenting that adds living organisms as long as it does not generate alcohol	Fresh, chilled, frozen, vacuum-packed vegetables and fruits; grains (cereals), including all types of rice; fresh, frozen, and dried beans and other legumes (pulses), roots, and tubers; fungi; dried fruits and freshly prepared or pasteurized nonreconstituted fruit juices; unsalted nuts and seeds; fresh, dried, chilled, and frozen meats, poultry, fish, and seafood; dried, fresh, pasteurized full-fat, low-fat, skimmed milk, and fermented milk such as plain yogurt; eggs; flour; “raw” pastas made from flour and water; teas, coffee, herbal infusions; tap, filtered, spring, mineral water
Processed culinary ingredients: substances extracted and purified by industry from constituents of foods or obtained from nature; preservatives, stabilizing, or “purifying” agents and other additives may be used	Plant oils, animal fats, starches, sugars and syrups, salt
Processed foods: manufactured by adding salt or sugar (or other substance of culinary use such as oil or vinegar) to whole foods to make them more durable and occasionally to also modify their palatability; derived directly from foods and recognizable as versions of the original foods generally produced to be consumed as part of meals or dishes; processes include canning and bottling, fermentation, and methods of preservation such as salting, salt-pickling, smoking, and curing	Canned or bottled vegetables and legumes (pulses) preserved in brine or pickled; peeled or sliced fruits preserved in syrup; tinned whole or pieces of fish preserved in oil; salted nuts or seeds; unreconstituted salted, cured, or smoked processed meats and fish, such as ham, bacon, and dried fish; cheeses made from milk, salt, and ferments; breads made from flour, water, salt, and ferments
Ultraprocessed products: formulated mostly or entirely from substances derived from foods or other organic sources; typically contain little or no whole foods; products are durable, convenient, packaged, branded, accessible, highly or ultrapalatable, and often habit-forming; typically not recognizable as versions of foods, although they may imitate the appearance, shape, and sensory qualities of foods; many ingredients are not available in retail outlets, whereas some are directly derived from foods such as oils, fats, starches, and sugar; others obtained by further processing of food constituents or synthetized from other organic sources; numerically, most ingredients are preservatives and other additives, such as stabilizers, emulsifiers, solvents, binders, bulkers, sweeteners, sensory enhancers, colors and flavors, and processing aids; bulk may come from added air or water; micronutrients may fortify the products; most are designed to be consumed by themselves or in combination as snacks or to replace freshly prepared dishes and meals based on unprocessed or minimally processed foods; processes include hydrogenation, hydrolysis, extruding, molding, reshaping, preprocessing by frying, and baking	Chips (crisps) and many other types of sweet, fatty, or salty packaged snack products; ice cream, chocolates, and candies (confectionery); French fries (chips), burgers, and hot dogs; poultry and fish nuggets or sticks (fingers); packaged breads, buns, cookies (biscuits); sweetened breakfast cereals; pastries, cakes, and cake mixes; energy bars; preserves (jams) and margarines; packaged desserts; canned, bottled, dehydrated, and packaged soups and noodles; sauces; meat and yeast extracts; carbonated and energy drinks; sugared and sweetened milk drinks; condensed milk; fruit yogurt; fruit and fruit nectar drinks; nonalcoholic wine and beer; preprepared meats, fish, vegetables, cheese, pizza, and pasta; infant formulas, follow-on milks, and other baby products; “weight-slimming” products such as powdered or fortified meal and dish substitutes

¹Reproduced from reference 8 with permission. NOVA defines industrial food processing as “the methods and techniques used by food manufacturers and associated industries to make unprocessed or ’raw‘ foods less perishable, easier to prepare, consume or digest, or more palatable and enjoyable, or else to transform them into food products.”